News

Breath analysis offers a quick assay of methane output in dairy cows

A new paper titled Non-invasive individual methane measurement in dairy cows is published in the journal Animal. The paper
underscores that any attempt to lower CH4 and carbon footprint of milk production via breeding requires
accurate measurement of CH4 in large-scale and on individual cows.
Read more➾

How does the newest model of the laser methane detector agree with the methane sensors of respiration chambers?

Scientists from METHAGENE published their answer to this question in an article titled ‘The agreement between two
next-generation laser methane detectors and respiration chamber facilities in recording methane concentrations in the
spent air produced by dairy cows’ in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
Read more➾

METHAGENE final meeting.

From October 11-13, 2017, 68 people attended the final METHAGENE meeting. After four
years of networking, sharing ideas and working hard, everything was brought together
in the final meeting. The meeting was a mixture of overviews of all achievements by
the working group leaders, research updates by early stage researchers and group work
to elaborate further on thoughts and opportunities. This all will be combined in a
recommendation document that will be of great help for new initiatives in this field
of large-scale individual recording of enteric methane emissions of ruminants.
Read more➾

Blog STSM Jody Leigh Edmunds.

A workflow was successfully
developed utilising various statistical packages (e.g. R, PLINK, Zanardi and
Beagle) to estimate the accuracy imputation of missing genotypes in
heterogeneous livestock populations, focusing on the impact on the prediction
accuracy.
Read more➾

Possibilities for reducing emissions from cattle farming

In 2016 the EIP-AGRI Focus Group on “reducing emissions from cattle farming”
was formed with 20 experts, of which several members of the METHAGENE consortium.
They explored possibilities for mitigating emissions of methane and ammonia from
cattle - and their cost effectiveness.
Read more➾

STSM: Blog spot of STSM experience

My name is Alexis Ruiz González. I am an Agronomist engineer specialized in
ruminants. Since my master degree (in Mexico), I was focused on looking for feeding
strategies to decrease the enteric methane production by ruminants, and now during my
PhD at Ghent University (Belgium), I am working with early life methane mitigation
strategies, emphasizing on the (risk for) adaptation of rumen microbes to this early
life feeding intervention.
Read more➾

Methagene WG3 Padova (June 26-27, 2017)

Methagene WG2 Billund

The second Expert group meeting of the Methagene WG2 on comparison of methods for measuring methane was held in Billund (DK)
on 13 and 14 March 2017. Nine experts from different countries, which are all members of the METHAGENE consortium, attended the meeting.
Read more➾

What are proxies for methane and for what are they used for?

This was the main subject of a recent invited review paper published on the Journal of
dairy science and authored by scientists of the METHAGENE-consortium.
Read more➾

June 19 - 21:Training School on “breeding for complex traits” in Umea, Sweden

STSM: Rumination time and methane emissions relationships in a multibreed dataset.

Blog post of STSM experience.

My name is Emanuela Parlato, I am an animal geneticist working with Italian water buffalo.
My focus is on improving genetic selection of milk in the buffalo population.
Read more➾

April 24 and 25: Experts of Working Group 4 meet in Madrid, Spain, to discuss possible breeding goal for methane emissions

STSM - How I discovered the world of bioinformatics.

My name is Stefanie Engelke and my PhD project at Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) (Dummerstorf, Germany)
is dealing with the level of methane output of dairy cows and the aim to validate an indirect marker to quantify methane emission
based on milk fatty acids feeding different diets. Both, milk fatty acid composition and methane production depend on rumen metabolism,
which is shaped by the microbial population. That was the starting point of my journey into a new field because I wanted to know more
about the relationships, coherent pathways and involved teammates creating the differences.
Read more➾

Cows cannot just stop burping methane..

Therefore we at Wageningen Livestock Research aim to reduce their methane emission through burping with genetics!
Invited by the Journal of Dairy Science, scientists of the METHAGENE-consortium
have written a review on “Phenotypes to genetically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in dairying”.
Read more➾

From January 30-31 2017, an expert group of Methagene Working Group 3 gathered in the facilities of “CRAW - Département Valorisation des productions” and
of the “University of Liège”, in Gembloux. The main objective of the meeting was to discuss and plan the activities under the 2nd task of WG3,
which focuses on the development of robust prediction equations for methane emissions from proxies recorded in different countries.
Read more➾

March 13 and 14: Experts of Working Group 2 meet in Billund, Denmark, to discuss ways to combine measurements with different equipments

Improved prediction of methane production requires consideration of NADH oxidation

Carbohydrates in the rumen are fermented to various volatile fatty acids (VFA). This process also yields NADH (a cofactor
carrying electrons). The type of VFA formed (e.g., acetate, propionate and butyrate), determines the quantity of NADH
oxidized back to NAD+ via hydrogen production, which is thermodynamically inhibited at elevated hydrogen partial pressure.
Many methanogenic archaea utilize hydrogen to reduce carbon dioxide to methane, and this keeps hydrogen partial pressure at
a low level, enabling NADH oxidation in bacteria. We quantified the control of hydrogen partial pressure on reaction rates
of specific fermentation pathways, methanogenesis and NADH oxidation in rumen microbes using the thermodynamic potential
factor. This is a dimensionless factor that corrects a predicted kinetic reaction rate for the thermodynamic control exerted.
Read more➾

METHAGENE STSM Blog of Thomas Denninger at the CRA-W in Gembloux, Belgium

Hi, my name Thomas Denninger, I am a PhD student at the Agroscope Institute for Livestock Sciences and at the ETH Zurich in
Switzerland. Currently, I am working with several methane measurement methods. During my first experiments we compared the
results of the SF6 tracer technique with the GreenFeed data and the data obtained from the milk mid-infrared data in grazing
dairy cattle. In my project we want to test rapid low-cost proxies or direct measurement methods for their accuracy and
their calibration with in-depth measurements of enteric methane emission of low- and high emitting cows. The CRA-W (
Centre Wallon de Recherches Agronomique) in Gembloux has some experiences especially in the application of the
SF6 tracer technique, the milk mid-infrared spectra and the GreenFeedsystem. For that reason there was the idea to collaborate
with the CRA-W.
Read more➾

Body fat mobilization in early lactation influences methane production of dairy cows

Many studies have shown strong positive correlations between feed intake and methane emission in dairy cows but the residual variance can barely be explained.
Recent studies have shown that apart from the genetic background the fat metabolism of the host may affect methane emission. We aimed to investigate the influence
of fat mobilization in early lactation of dairy cows on ruminal fermentation and methane emission.
Read more➾

Irene Breider news story on the collaboration with Jennie Pryce.

Hi, it’s Irene again! This time I will tell you about the next phase in my PhD project (which is a joint collaboration between The University of Nottingham and SRUC).
I have arrived at the genomics part of my project and will be looking at the genomic background of methane emissions in dairy cattle. The focus will be on the relationship
between methane emissions and feed efficiency.
Read more➾

The 2016 annual meeting of METHAGENE

The 2016 annual meeting of METHAGENE will be
held in Padova, Italy, from October 12-14, 2016. The meeting will be hosted and organised by University of
Padova and PTP. The focus during this meeting will be on “combining data from different sources (WG2)”
and on “breeding for methane (WG4)”. A part of the meeting will be programmed as an industry meeting,
to enlarge their involvement. Keep an eye on this website for updates on the programme! Read more➾

Methagene Training School 2016

STSM Livia Kolesar

Hi, my name is Livia Kolesar and I am a young researcher from the Institute of Animal Physiology of the Slovak Academy of
Sciences in Kosice, Slovakia. With the financial support of Methagene COST Action I was able to spend a month at INRA in
France and join a very interesting and comprehensive project in Dr. Diego Morgavi’s lab.
Read more➾

STSM for comparison of LMD & FTIR

My name is Sarah Mühlbach, I am a PhD student at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. For my PhD
project I am measuring methane with a Laser Methane Detector (LMD) on research stations and commercial farms. Methane is
measured with a lot of different techniques. From this the question arises whether these techniques create similar data and
fit together.
Read more➾

COST METHAGENE STSM Blog of Diana Sorg

I am a postdoctoral scientist with Prof. Hermann Swalve from the Animal Breeding group of Martin Luther University
Halle-Wittenberg in Germany. We measure methane emissions from dairy cows with the mobile, non-invasive, hand-held Laser
Methane Detector (LMD). It records the methane concentration in the air along the laser path between the cow’s mouth
and the device. In our research project we want to identify possible methane phenotypes for the genetic selection of dairy
cows that can be measured with the LMD under commercial conditions. Read more➾

First results of research Irene Breider presented at BSAS conference

Hi, I’m Irene Breider and earlier this year I presented the first results of my PhD at the BSAS annual conference.
My PhD (a joint collaboration between The University of Nottingham and SRUC) focusses on the genetic and genomic background
of methane emission and feed efficiency in dairy cattle. Read more➾

METHAGENE Expert Working Group, Edinburgh 2016.

Earlier this year experts within the METHAGENE Cost-Action group were invited to Edinburgh for a three day workshop
to discuss breeding for methane reduction by Eileen Wall, professor at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and coordinator
for working group 4.
Read more➾

Hi, I’m Gareth Difford, a PhD student at Aarhus University in Denmark working with genetics and methane
emissions in Dairy Cattle and this is my blog about my METHAGENE COST Action STSM to Wageningen, The Netherlands.
My goal was to work on a multi-country dataset of methane emission records from multiple instruments/techniques on
lactating Holstein cattle in multiple production systems, what could be more Methagene than that?
Read more➾

METHAGENE Expert group meeting on “Comparison of methods for measuring methane”.

The Expert group meeting of the Methagene WG2 on comparison of methods for measuring methane was held in Nottingham (UK)
on 19 and 20 January 2016.
Read more➾

METHAGENE Expert group meeting on “Proxies for methane” – 2nd Round.

A second round of METHAGENE expert group meeting on proxies for methane was held at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
in Jokioinen on 07 and 08 January 2016.
Read more➾

We reviewed recent literature that relates milk fatty acids with methane emission, and discussed the potential use of mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy
to estimate methane emission of dairy cattle. A summary of studies that investigated the predictive power of milk fatty acids for methane emission
indicated good potential.
Read more➾

Milk fatty acid profile and methane production in cattle fed grass- or grass-silage based diets.

We quantified relationships between methane production and milk FA profile in dairy cattle fed grass- or grass silage-based diets.
Moderate to strong relationships between milk FA and methane yield or intensity were obtained, but those relationships largely differed
from those for other types of diets.
Read more➾

Networks meeting each other in Melbourne.

Within the Livestock Research Group of the Global Research Alliance for agricultural greenhouse gases (GRA) several networks have been established over the years.
Read more➾

Annual meeting ASGGN 2016.

The annual meeting of the Animal Selection, Genetics, Genomics Network of 2016 was held in Melbourne, Australia on February 14th,
prior to the Greenhouse Gas Animal Agriculture Conference.
Read more➾

STSM note Maguy EUGENE.

I spent one intense week at Aberystwyth University in the UK in January 2015, discussing statistical theory and methods for meta-analysis.
The visit was part of an on-going collaboration with my host, Dr. Rudinow Saetnan Eli on the meta-analysis of methane mitigation strategies.
Read more➾

STSM: Prediction of methane emissions from milk MIR spectra.

My name is Florian Grandl and I work at Qualitas AG in Switzerland. Qualitas AG is the genetic evaluation centre of the Swiss dairy cattle breeding
organisations and is involved in research and development in the field of functional and novel traits such as methane emission and feed efficiency in
dairy cattle. We have established collaborations with CRA-W and ULg GxABT for assessing milk MIR spectral data as an indicator trait for methane emissions.
Read more➾

Portugese study on the intensity of milk production on GHG emissions.

Recently a paper has been published with the aim to evaluate the relationship between the intensity of milk production
for a wide range of Portuguese commercial cattle farms and NH3 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manure management
and enteric fermentation.
Read more➾

No interaction between nitrate and docosahexaenoic acid in mitigating enteric methane production.

The additive methane mitigating effect between nitrate and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fat source, was investigated
in lactating dairy cows at Wageningen University. Nitrate, but not DHA, decreased enteric methane production expressed
per unit of feed or per unit of fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM), and effects were additive.
Read more➾

STSM: Proxies for methane emissions to be used for genetic evaluations.

My name is Mevlüt Günal and I am a lecturer at Department of Animal Science-Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey.
My research area covers rumen fermentation and its nutritional management. In two last years, my studies focus on the methods for measurement
of methane emission.
Read more➾

STSM: Detectability of differences in methane emission potential.

My name is Jana Pisarcikova, I am PhD student at Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Animal Physiology, Kosice in Slovakia.
The topic of my thesis is “Manipulation of microbial digestion in rumen by phytogenic and no phytogenic additives”
and my doctoral study is focussing on methane determining factors associated with variation in methane production, as well as on
implementation of chromatographic methods for measurement of methane emission in relation to animal nutrition and digestion.
Read more➾

International Conference on “Steps to Sustainable Livestock” coming up (12-15th January 2016 - Bristol, UK).

My name is Marcin Szalanski. I am a master’s degree student at the Poznan University of Life Sciences (PULS) in Poznan, Poland.
In the last year of my studies I became interested in the quantitative genetics approach as a mitigation strategy for ruminant enteric
methane emissions. Currently, I am writing my master thesis titled “Variability of dairy cows’ methane emission from
individual breath measurements”. It will be a part of a project realized in Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at
my home university.
Read more➾

STSM: The use of indirect calorimetry for prediction of methane emissions from ruminants.

My name is Georg Terler and I am a researcher and PhD student at Austrian Research and Education Center (AREC) Raumberg-Gumpenstein,
Austria. The field I am researching in is livestock production, reaching from the production of feed for animals till the quality of
food of animal origin. In future one main topic of my work will be environmental aspects of cattle production with focus on methane
emissions.
Read more➾

Wageningen meeting

Genetic study of methane production predicted from milk fat composition in dairy cows

Predicted methane production based on milk fatty acids has demonstrated to be heritable and, thus,
breeding could be used to decrease predicted methane production.
Read more➾

Climate smart cattle farming and breeding

On August 31st 2015 a full day seminar is organised on Climate Smart Cattle Farming and
Breeding at the Annual Meeting of the European Association of Animal Production (EAAP). METHAGENE and
RuminOmics are in charge of this day, together with the Cattle Commission of EAAP.
Read more➾

Joint Networks workshop held in Reading, UK

Research networks related to the reduction of methane emissions held a joint workshop at the University of Reading,
United Kingdom, on 26th June 2015. The objectives were to improve communication and collaboration amongst the
networks and explore interdisciplinary approaches for tackling greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture.
Read more➾

Natalie Pickering (New Zealand) and Yvette de Haas (The Netherlands) were invited to write a review on the genetic possibilities to reduce
enteric methane emissions from ruminants. This review is now published in Animal.
Read more➾

Robust and efficient dairy cows - REFFICO

A new Danish research project on feed efficiency.
The overall goal of the project is to implement a selection tool for farmers that can be used to select for more efficient cows
and at the same time at least stay on the same level for reproduction, health and longevity.
Read more➾

In spring 2015, I, Diana Sorg, visited ETH Zurich in Switzerland for one week with an STSM.
Among other questions the genetic background of methane emissions
is studied in order to be able to select cows that produce less methane for breeding. However, to collect enough data for a
genetic-statistical analysis we need to evaluate many animals on commercial farms. For that, we use the non-invasive and
portable Laser Methane Detector (LMD) which quantifies the methane concentration in air.
Read more➾

Training school on large scale methane data handling, analysis and interpretation

A new indicator for methane yield of individual cows

The relationship between methane emission of Holstein cows and the abundance of an archaeal enzyme,
which catalyzes the final step of methane synthesis in the rumen, was examined by two partners
participating in the METHAGENE network, the FBN Dummerstorf and the University of Kiel.
Read more➾

Measuring enteric methane emissions during milking

A research study on quantifying methane emissions among individual dairy cows during milking was published in the Journal of
Dairy Science. This work was done by one of the partners in the METHAGENE network, the University of Nottingham.
Read more➾

Genetic parameters for methane emissions by dairy cows

Recently, a study on genetic parameters for predicted methane production and laser methane detector measurements was published
in the Journal of Animal Science. This work is part of international collaboration between the ASGGN group of the Global Research
Alliance and researchers in the METHAGENE network. Read more➾

Assessing variation in enteric methane emissions in dairy cows

A study, which provides an assessment of phenotypic variation in enteric methane emissions among dairy cows on commercial farms,
was published in Animal. This work was done by the School of Biosciences of the University of Nottingham, partner in the
METHAGENE network. Read more➾

Short term scientific mission of Zala at Helmholtz Zentrum Munich

My name is Zala Prevorsek and I am a postdoctoral researcher at Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
I am currently working on a microbial project, which is focused on finding novel genes related to polymer degradation and methane
production in complex microbial communities and their overlap with mRNA transcripts. Thanks to the support of METHAGENE COST Action,
I went for an STSM to Schloter, Helmholtz Zentrum München German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH),
Neuherberg (DE), from February 1st untill March 2nd 2015. Read more➾

New research published on measuring methane from cattle related to milk fat.

A method for measuring methane emissions from cattle related to milk fatty acids has been published in the Journal of Dairy Science.
The paper is a result of joint research of METHAGENE project partners Wageningen University, University of Reading and the
Utrecht University. Read more➾
Nov 5-7, 2014: Workshop “Animal variation in methane emissions and harmonization of protocols“, Granada, Spain.
(Information).
Sept 29 - Oct 1, 2014: Course on “Physiology of methane for geneticists“, Dummerstorf, Germany
(Information).
May 8, 2014: Start-up meeting of METHAGENE, Schiphol, the Netherlands